Lawyer Salaries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the median annual wage for lawyers was about $114,970 in 2014, with the top 10 percent of earners taking home more than $187,199 per year.ecent data found that lawyers with ten or more years of experience working in a small law firm earned between $96,250 and $161,500, while those with only one-to-three years of experience earned between $56,500 and $90,250.
A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials takes place. A trial court of general jurisdiction is authorized to hear some type of civil or criminal case that is not committed exclusively to another court.
Bench Trials. A bench trial takes place in front of a judge only; there is no jury involved. The judge is both the finder of fact and ruler on matters of law and procedure. This means that the judge decides the credibility of the evidence presented at trial and also decides what happens at the trial according to laws and rules of procedure.